The event, along with a handful of potent matchups for the card,
was formally announced during Sunday’s Dream “Fight for Japan” at
Saitama Super Arena.

Both titleholders return to Japan looking to rebound from missteps
in the cage of Strikeforce.
Mousasi, Dream’s former middleweight and current light heavyweight
ace, will seek to erase the memory of a foul-marred April 9 draw
with Keith
Jardine when he risks his belt against 2004 Olympic Games judo
silver medalist Hiroshi
Izumi. Featherweight champ Takaya, who was upset by unheralded
American Robert
Peralta on the same April Strikeforce bill, defends against
powerful wrestler Kazuyuki
Miyata, the winner of six straight.

Also attempting to rebound from a less-than-stellar stateside
performance will be perennial Top 10 lightweight Tatsuya
Kawajiri. In his April 9 North American debut, the “Crusher”
was rudely dispatched by reigning Strikeforce 155-pound king
Gilbert
Melendez with first-round elbows. Kawajiri will have a chance
to restore some luster to his name when he clashes with former
Shooto world champion and one-time UFC vet Willamy
“Chiquerim” Freire.

Additionally, Dream’s Japan bantamweight grand prix -- the opening
two rounds of which went down Sunday -- will see its conclusion at
Dream 17 when Deep champ Masakazu
Imanari clashes with fellow grappler and fan-favorite Hideo
Tokoro. Vying for third place and a slot in Dream’s late-2011
world bantamweight tournament will be the men Imanari and Tokoro
topped to reach the finals, Atsushi
Yamamoto and Kenji
Osawa.